


Healing World

by Eclipsesab



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, F/M, Gods, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-12 22:55:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28643316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eclipsesab/pseuds/Eclipsesab
Summary: The world has been through much turmoil and grief, and humanity struggles to rebuild.  With gods and monsters roaming the globe the half-bloods attempt to keep the planet from going down in fire.  With monsters growing bolder and a mysterious power organizing them, Nico is sucked back into a world he long since wanted to leave.  However, a certain blonde keeps him grounded and for the first time in a long time, Nico begins to feel hope.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Jason Grace/Piper McLean, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Comments: 1
Kudos: 5





	1. Dark Times

**Author's Note:**

> Trying this new idea out, updates will probably be ad hoc and may be frustrating. Let me know what you think.

It was overcast as he walked the bombed-out streets of what he assumed used to be Berlin. It was rather hard to tell considering there wasn’t a building in sight. The only real landmark was a few columns and a large collapsed roof of a rather large building. Nico wasn’t sure what it was, but it was the only structure that still stood, and it was his camp for the moment. There were vehicles strewn about as settling operations had finally begun for the old city however there were few that had arrived. He spotted an American flag over a tent and several other tents surrounding it. That wasn’t the reason Nico had come to this part of the world. He was here for one specific person that had carved out their own small kingdom in this city. There was a rather large bounty on this guy and Nico was looking to collect before the actual government brought the hammer down.

He left the small settlement behind and ventured further and further into the dead ruins and eerie silence. The only thing he heard was the wind and the occasional bird. There were very few trees and no flowers to be seen whatsoever and he supposed that was a result of the war. The planet itself was still recovering and the only place that still had some great nature were the Americas. After walking for what seemed like an hour, he finally spotted what appeared to be a wooden wall and Nico supposed he had made it. He kneeled on the ground and pulled his sword and concentrated on the shadows around him. He felt the familiar tug in his gut and that’s when he melted into the shadows.

The trip itself was short given the distance was only a few hundred yards and he hardly felt winded when he reappeared. His aim was good, and he was kneeling inside the central compound building he had seen from the satellite images. It appeared to be empty for the moment and Nico decided to post himself in the corner and bend the shadows to make himself appear invisible. He waited for a few minutes and that’s when the door opened, and two people walked in and one of them was his target. They were talking in hushed tones and Nico barely made out that fact that they planned on attacking the arriving people to keep control of what they have. It was then that Nico let go of the shadows and moved forward.

“Bryce Lawrence, nice to finally met you.” Nico said.

The two men whirled and pulled small arms on him, but Nico was unconcerned.

“How did you get in here?” one demanded.

“The shadows are a path around even the best of defenses. Now, I need you to come quietly.” Nico responded.

“No, we are about to free ourselves from the shackles of the old world and you would be wise to not stand in our way bounty hunter.” Bryce sneered.

Nico sighed, “You realize I got here from there intel? They know where you are and what you have at your disposal. I was given two days to bring you back alive or they would storm this place and kill you all.”

They paled at that and it seemed reality was sinking in.

“That’s not possible, they haven’t been here hardly longer than a week.”

“They don’t need to have boots on the ground to know where you are. There are eyes still in the sky looking down at everything. Now, do you surrender?” Nico explained.

“Never!” Bryce yelled.

They charged and Nico quickly killed the lacky and disarmed Bryce in a matter of seconds and cuffed him. He then pulled the shadows to him and warped back to the camp and deposited Bryce in the hands on the authorities there. Nico then waited for his payment and hopes that he could get tips on his next bounty.

“Nico?” someone asked.

Nico turned and found someone he thought he had left a long time ago. It was his cousin Percy Jackson, and famed war hero. Why he was here was beyond Nico and there was nothing more that he wanted than to melt away and not have to face this conversation.

“Hi, Percy.” Nico replied.

“What are you doing here? I haven’t seen you in years.”

“Just collecting a bounty and stopping a massacre from happening.” Nico said.

Percy laughed, “Only you. Is this all you’ve been up to?”

“For the most part. There really isn’t anything else that I’m good at.” Nico said.

“I don’t believe that, and you know that isn’t true.” 

“How’s Annabeth? Last I heard she was making headway in the government.” Nico said changing the subject.

“She’s great though the whole government thing is slow, and she has since planned to come out here and help rebuild.” Percy answered.

“Good for her, now who do I need to talk to, to get paid?”

“Well, seeing as I’m the highest-ranking military person here that person would be me. What was the bounty?” Percy said.

Nico reached around and pulled the book that he kept strapped to his back and opened it to the rates that he accepted.

“Two hundred thousand is my lowest rate, even for such an easy target as this guy.” Nico said.

“That can be arranged, but for now have a seat and eat something for goodness sakes.” Percy said.

Nico huffed and moved to one of the food tents and grabbed himself a meal. He looked around and saw mostly the pale green uniforms of the soldiers as well as the grey that the colonists wore to show the difference. Nico himself stood out rather harshly given his black pants and shirt with his black cloak over top. It kept his sword and throwing knives hidden rather well, not to mention the book he kept on him. He uses it mostly for spells and any intel he couldn’t remember in the briefings he was given. He had to shift the chains around his forearms, so they weren’t so noisy and kept half a mind on the mace balls that went on the ends of them. The meal was alright, given it was a sandwich, some water, and an apple. Though this was the most he had eaten all week since trekking out here. It was then that someone decided to sit across from him, and he decided to try and scare them off.

He looked to be from either Texas or California if the tan skin was anything to go by, as well as the bright blonde hair and blues eyes that met his gaze. The guy smiled warmly at him and Nico could feel his glare easing at it and wondered why he chose to sit here. He wore grey clothes, but they had the telltale red cross on them, meaning he was a medic.

“Can I help you?” Nico said.

“No, just saw you sitting by yourself and thought you might like company.” The guy responded.

“Well, I don’t need it so feel free to leave.” Nico replied.

The guy only laughed, “I’m going to guess you’re the bounty hunter that they sent out here.”

“Yes, what of it?”

“Just wondering, there isn’t much excitement in these parts. You coming and shutting down that little encampment is about all that will happen for a while.” He answered.

“You chose this life; I merely do this to live. Its about the only thing I have going for me.”

“I don’t believe that for a moment.”

“Look at me and try to imagine me doing this kind of shit day in and day out.” Nico snapped.

“I don’t know what you think of yourself, but I don’t see that in you. If you didn’t have a good heart, why would you go out and risk your life for others?” the guy retorted.

“I don’t do it out of the kindness of my heart, and I haven’t been in any real danger in years.”

“Whatever you say. I’ve seen a lot of people and you have the bleeding heart.”

Nico grumbled and ate the rest of his meal and hoped he could get away from this guy and get his money and then leave. However, he wasn’t given that reprieve as Percy then appeared with a tablet in hand.

“Hey, I’ve got a message for you Nico.” Percy said.

Nico took the tablet and found Annabeth staring back at him.

“Hello, Nico. Good to see you after all this time.” She spoke.

“Likewise. So, am I getting paid or what?” Nico replied.

“Normally, yes but there has been some movement on the other side of the ocean. We can give you a hundred thousand now, but we would like to make another offer.” She started.

“What kind of offer?”

“Well, I’m crossing the ocean to help set up the governments in London, Paris and now Berlin. Once that is all over, I’ll be heading to California for some nice vacation time. During that time, we expect a great deal of resistance and need more protection.”

“Get some soldiers. There should be more than enough cannon fodder for you to have.” Nico said.

She was silent and glared at him, “Normally yes, but its election season here so that isn’t an option anymore. Any security force there will be the only protection available. While I don’t doubt that Percy is capable these things can never be too safe. So, if your up for it I would like to hire you for the time being.”

Nico was silent and took in the request. No doubt it would pay very well, especially given the length of time that would be involved. On the other hand, it would mean revisiting his past and that is not something he wanted to do. He looked at Percy and could practically see his pleading and it melted Nico’s heart just a little.

“I’m assuming the pay would be good?” Nico asked.

Percy seemed to perk up at that, “Of course she can get you whatever you want.”

Nico worked his jaw, “Give me one thing.”

“Name it.” She spoke.

“I want a spell book.”

“That won’t be hard, any particular subject?”

“Necromancy.” Nico said.

It was silent and he was met with surprised looks and a rather disapproving one from Annabeth, but she said nothing.

“That may be a little more difficult but still that can be arranged.” She spoke.

“Fine, when and where do you want me?” Nico asked.

“I’ll be sending Percy the details in a few hours but for now just stay there and stay alert. I don’t believe that Bryce was the only one out there.” She spoke.

Nico nodded and then tuned her out as she started talking to Percy about things he didn’t care about and then noticed that a pair of eyes were looking at him. The blonde guy was staring at him with a rather excited gaze and Nico wasn’t sure how to take it. He left the group and made his way out to the empty ground and sat himself down and pulled out his book. He spoke the words quietly and the green fire came to life in front of him and held and steady flame. It then began to sperate and started with his own presence and gradually added more as it found more and more people. He pieced together a picture of the shattered Berlin and all the people that lived there. There weren’t many, the few hundred settlers that currently surrounded him and the fifty or sixty souls that had decided to follow Bryce. Which now seemed to be in a panic at the sudden absence of their leader.

It was a neat spell that he had created that helped with scouting out what he might be throwing himself into. Nothing out of the ordinary was on his little map and so he waved his hand through the flames and it all went out. It seemed this place was monster free, which was quite an achievement and was probably a result of the bombing that had taken place in the war in the years past. It was then that Nico heard footsteps and noticed the blonde guy was walking out towards him and Nico acted as if he didn’t exist and hoped he would go away.

“You sure agreed to those terms rather easily. I had you pegged as someone a little more stubborn.” The guy said.

“Hard to say no to Annabeth. She knows just what to say to convince you she’s right.” Nico begrudgingly replied.

The guy laughed, “She is very much like that. Mind if I join you?”

Nico grunted and the guy sat down next to him and Nico had to quickly shut his book of spells, less give away some of his abilities.

“Nice book of spells you got there.” The guy said.

“Its just so I don’t forget what I have at my disposal. I have a whole library of the break down of them back home.”

“And where is home?”

“Maine, though I haven’t been there in years.” Nico answered.

“Maine? You’re a long way away.”

Nico was silent and didn’t want the conversation to go down that rabbit whole, especially with someone he had just met.

“I’m from Texas.” The guy supplied.

“I guessed.” Nico replied.

“How did you figure?”

“The bleach blonde hair, tan skin, the little drawl that you have kind of painted the picture for me.” Nico answered.

“Huh, most people don’t really notice that.”

“I tend to pick up on those things. Perks of having been all over the planet.” Nico said.

“Must be nice. This is my first real appointment since becoming a doctor and it scares me being in a graveyard like this.” The guy said.

“Well, you have the ability to help people, all I do is go around killing people.”

“I’m sure that’s not true.” The guy retorted.

“Look at me and say that I don’t give off the feeling of death.” Nico said glaring at him.

The guy looked at him and then backed down, but Nico could tell he had a lot of questions.

“I’m guessing your dad is Hades then.” The guy said.

Nico was taken back for a moment, “How could you possibly guess that?”

“The whole dark vibe, the feeling of death you do give off, and your interest in necromancy kind of gave it away.” The guy explained.

“Well, thanks now you can avoid me.” Nico said.

The guy tilted his head, “What do you mean avoid you?”

“Whenever someone finds out that I’m related to him they get weirded out and leave me alone.” Nico explained.

“Well, I think that’s stupid. No one wants to be avoided, it isn’t healthy.”

Nico scoffed, “Whatever, what’s your name anyway?”

“Will Solace.”


	2. Down in London

The journey to meet Annabeth was a long and boring one as Percy, Will and Nico were the only ones leaving for London. They travelled several days to the coast and then caught a destroyer to the coast of England and walked the rest of the way to the city. This place was far busier with people than most of the areas that Nico had seen over the last few years and he supposed it was because this place was the least damaged on the entire continent. They were met by military personnel just outside the half-built House of Commons and they were told that Annabeth was waiting inside. Nico was almost prevented from entering the building until Percy saying that he was privately hired security and then wasn’t messed with from then on. He could have simply shadow travelled in if he were stopped and there wasn’t really anything that could stop him from getting in that way. Its what’s made him such a successful bounty hunter, because all the guns in the world wouldn’t stop him from getting behind their lines.

Annabeth was in the central room for Parliament and seemed to be talking to recently elected members of the chamber. She then noticed them and waved them over.

“Gentlemen I would like to introduce you to Captain Percy Jackson, and Doctor William Solace of the German expansion force. The other is Nico di Angelo, he is a recent hire on my security team as we move about the continent.” Annabeth said.

There were pleasantries thrown their way, but Nico didn’t respond partly because he didn’t want to and also, he was rather outside of expertise. Percy and Will seemed comfortable enough, but Nico guessed that came from experience dealing with the Washington lawmakers.

“You wouldn’t happen to be the Nico from the battle of New York, would you?” someone asked.

Nico whipped his attention to the man and was silent for a second unsure as to how to respond, “I am, what of it?”

“I had thought so, someone of your abilities wouldn’t set down their blade so easily.” The man responded.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Nico snapped.

Annabeth shot a glare at him, but the man simply laughed.

“I was there when the city was attacked, and thousands died. I was apart of a British legal team sent to the World Trade Center and we were supposed to begin our rounds that day. I didn’t witness much of the battle considering the spell that we all had been put under, but I saw the end. Hades arriving with his undead army and you leading the charge against the horde. It was quite a sight to behold.   
When I had heard you were on the continent again, I had hoped I would be able to send my gratitude your way.” The man said.

Nico was speechless and could see the smirk that Percy was giving him, as well as the smile Annabeth had plastered on her face. Nico quickly felt the heat rising to his face and did what he always did in these situations.

“It’s no big deal. Now if you’ll excuse me.” Nico said quickly.

He quickly dropped his gaze and powered out of the room and onto the street to get air. The things that man had talked about brought up painful memories of the blood bath that New York had been, and Nico was sure that he was running out of air. His vision narrowed and all he could think about was all the death he had brought to everyone around him. He wasn’t sure what changed but he vaguely felt a steady rhythm and an urge to concentrate on it. It wasn’t until his vision cleared did, he realize what had happened. Will was holding his hand to his chest and telling Nico to match his breathing.   
When he finally calmed down, he snatched his hand away and looked down and attempted to wipe the tears from his face.

“Are you alright?” Will asked.

Nico was silent for a minute, “I’m better, just haven’t had one of those in a while.”

He heard a strangled noise from Will and waited for the inevitable tirade he almost always got about taking care of himself. However, a water bottle appeared in front of his vision and he took it and nearly down the entire thing. He then looked to Will who had a small smiled on his face and an unreadable emotion in his eyes.

“Go ahead, tell me off.” Nico said.

“What do you mean?” Will asked.

Will had tilted his head which Nico thought made him look like a confused puppy.

“Berate me for not taking care of myself. I wouldn’t be the first time someone has done it.” Nico said.

“Why on earth would I do that?” Will asked, somewhat offended.

“Its what people usually do when I freak out like that.”

“Well, those people are stupid. Just because my main focus of medicine is on the body doesn’t mean I can’t try and help a mind.” Will said.

“Really, what would you say then? Talk to someone, dump all my problems out, what?” Nico snapped.

“No, just to relax and take a minute. If you want to talk then talk, if not then don’t. I’m not going to force you to do something you don’t want to do.” Will shot back.

Nico was taken aback, so much so he took a literal step back. He then looked down and back over the river and settled on the fence. He wasn’t sure if Will was there, but he stood there for a long time in silence. Eventually Nico had had enough and decided he needed to break the silence.

“It was about New York if you were wondering.” Nico said softly.

“I gathered.” Will said lightly.

Nico huffed, “It was a nightmare being there. I try to not think about it.”

“I get it, I was there too.”

Nico turned to look at Will, but Will kept his gaze far away.

“You were? I never saw you.” Nico said.

“Yeah, I was a medic at that point, and I wasn’t a great fighter, but us half-bloods were the only ones still standing.” 

“You’re a half-blood?” Nico asked surprised.

Will chuckled, “I thought you would’ve figured it out by this point. Blonde hair, tall, tan, and blue eyes. That ring any bells?”

“You’re a son of Apollo.”

“Yeah, by the point you had shown up I had lost two brothers and run out of arrows. Since the battle collapsed to the center of the city, I was just trying to keep who I could alive. Then the army of the dead came roaring in and when Poseidon and his army breached the riverbanks, I knew it was over. For as many monsters as there were, they couldn’t stand up to two gods and three armies all crashing down on them.” Will explained.

“Do you ever get stuck in the memories?” Nico dared to ask.

“Not often, and usually its only the parts right before the end when it looked like we had lost. I usually get over it as it’s all in the past and nothing can change it now. I know my experience wasn’t anything like yours but know that I can relate on a certain level.”

They went silent again, but that’s when something caught Nico’s eye. It was subtle and he supposed his battle readiness was why he caught it. He river looked rather worked up in one spot, as if something were just below the surface, but after a minute or two it settled. He supposed it could’ve been some wood trapped under the water, but he couldn’t be sure.

“C’mon, were still on the clock. Best we get back in, the session is supposed to start soon.” Will said.

“Yeah.” Was all Nico said.

He kept his eye on the water for a few more moments but then turned his back and walked back inside. The halls were mostly empty at this point and Nico managed to catch Annabeth before she went in the chamber.

“Do you have my book?” Nico asked.

She looked taken aback for a moment before nodding and providing said text.

“Are you alright?” she asked.

He gave her a rare smile, “Better, Will helped.”

A few expressions flited across her face before she schooled her expression.

“I’m glad.”

They followed her in, and Nico spent most of the time memorizing the various spells. He was still bothered by the river and took the time to pull a black pen and began writing runes on his arms. Will noticed quickly and set a hand on his arm to get his attention.

“What are you doing?” Will whispered.

“Precaution, something doesn’t feel right.” Nico whispered back.

“Need me to write any?” Will asked.

“Know any protection spells?”

Will nodded and handed him his spare pen and they both quickly wrote dozens of runes. Percy caught them a few minutes later and subtlety pulled his pen from his pocket. He gave them a nod and Nico knew he was ready for anything. Percy was much more refined in his magic and didn’t need runes for the most part but seeing him write them might cause a panic. Nico then shut his eyes and reached into the shadows for a new set of eyes and set his sights on the outside of the building. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary but just at the edge of his view he saw it. Cyclops leaving the Thames and getting ready to heave rocks and he quickly retreated back.

He didn’t say anything but simply jump down to the center of the room sending shocked gasps around and then raised his arms. The runes flare to life and a black barrier expanded outwards just coming shy of the roof and covering most of the exit’s doors. Then the first rocks hit the building and shook the ceiling and sending screams around the room. He eyed Annabeth and he could see the gears shift in her head and switch to battle mode.

“Everyone to the exits, and to safety. We are under attack!” she yelled.

The room fell into panic and Percy walked up to them holding his famous bronze sword. Will was with him and eyed Nico.

“How well are you holding?” Percy asked.

“Fine for the most part. I saw cyclops with my shadows and their only chucking rocks. I doubt that’s all there is though. Will has some back up shields if we need them.” Nico said.

“Good thinking ahead, now I’m assuming its coming from the river?” Annabeth asked.

“Yeah, but I wouldn’t count any other approach out.”

It was then that Nico felt something big hit his shield and he grunted from the effort. Whatever it was, it wanted in.

“Nico?” Annabeth said.

“Fine, something just hit the shield really hard. Something way stronger than the cyclops.” Nico responded winded.

It was then that a roar sounded out and the shield was hit again. The ceiling gave way, and a rather familiar face was staring back at them.

“The Minotaur, something big must be happening.” Percy said.

The great beast stared at them and hit the shield again and this time Nico fell to one knee. He quickly rose again, but he knew that he couldn’t keep it up forever. If the Minotaur wanted in, he would get his way eventually.

“Is the room clear?” Nico asked.

“Yes, military personnel got them out. We need to hit them back and not have this stalemate.” Annabeth said.

“I’ll hit the river and kill anything nearby. Will, you got your sonic arrows?” Percy said.

“Better, I’ve been testing, and I can make an infinite supply of light arrows. There rather good at blinding and setting things on fire.” Will responded.

“Great, you’re our fire support and Nico you’re on the ground with Annabeth.” Percy said.

“Sounds like a plan.” Annabeth said.

It was then that the shield was hit hard, and the walls came down. Nico could feel his own shield giving way but held as best he could.

“Will, shield!” he yelled.

His own shield then failed as Will’s took form but had less time to expand. Luckily, the smaller the shield the stronger it is. They were trapped underneath the rubble, but it wasn’t concerning.

“Your guys ready?” Nico asked.

“Man, I haven’t shadow travelled in years.” Percy whined.

“Suck it up, Will I’m going to pull us in the shadows. As soon as you feel the slip let the shield go, we won’t need it.” Nico said.

Will merely nodded and Nico grabbed the back of his shirt. Annabeth grabbed his other hand and Percy grabbed hers. He then reached out to the shadows and pulled them all in and just to the outside of the building. They staggered upon rematerializing, but Percy began running towards the river and dived in. Will took a look and ran for higher ground making a bow and arrow out of light and heat. Nico simply pulled his sword and ran down the street cutting down whatever beast got in his way. It took a while for them to notice him but once they did, they turned their attention on him. It was something he was willing to do to pull the heat off the regular troops. Annabeth watched his back and then cut through a great deal of enemies and Will picked them off from taking them unawares. The river then erupted, and Percy stood in the center of a whirling water tornado and began to peel those closest to the river away.

It was bloody and he wasn’t sure how long he had been fighting but he was pulled out of it when he took an arrow to the arm. He grunted and stumbled from the pain. Annabeth killed the monster in front of him and they pulled back to the gun line.

“You alright?” Annabeth asked.

“Yeah, just took me by surprise.” Nico said.

The arrow was removed, and a bandage was placed overtop and tied. It was then the roar of fighters were heard as the flew over laying down ordinance. Nico also tasted the change in the air and how it tasted like ozone and turned to see the blonde himself. Jason was smirking at him with his gladius drawn and crackles of lighting coming off him.

“So nice of you to join the party.” Nico said.

“Wouldn’t want you to have all the fun. Now, what’s the situation?” Jason replied.

“Strike force on the building. Minotaur in charge, though he seems to have pulled back. Their regrouping for one final push, but I think we can kill them all before they get there. I think a three-man storm can end it now.” Annabeth said.

Jason looked to Nico, “Think you’re up for it?”

“A little wound won’t slow me down. Go fly over to Percy and relay the message. Meet me two hundred yards that way.” Nico replied.

Jason nodded and took of in a gust of wind and Nico looked to Annabeth who nodded and went to the commander. When the gunfire stopped Nico charged past the line and towards the hoard and began to gather power. He started fracturing the ground and Nico saw Jason and Percy right on his heels. The wind gathered strength and the monsters began to realize that they were trapped. Water met the wind and whipped up into the air and clouds began to form. The earth was ripped from the ground and broken into pieces and whipped up to deadly velocity. The storm they were building was small compared to the ones they had used in the past, but it would do the job. Monsters were beginning to be ripped into the sky or had chunks taken out from the rock.

Nico infused his own green fire into the storm as Jason began to call lighting down. Percy guided it with his water and as the storm reached its peak Nico saw a single yellow arrow streak towards the tempest and shine brightly before being consumed. It was then that the result shocked Nico as the arrow fell apart and the storm caught ablaze and shown brightly. It was hard to look at, but Nico maintained his power as the fire storm ripped apart whatever was left. When Percy dropped the water, Jason let the winds slow and Nico dropped the rocks and fire and slowly the storm fell apart. What was left was blasted earth and the charred remains of the monsters, but one figure still stood. The Minotaur looked singed but otherwise unharmed and Nico had to growl. The stronger the monster the harder to kill.

They weren’t given the chance as the great lumbering beast leveled his axe at them and then the earth opens up and swallow him whole. Nico stood there stunned as the other half-bloods convened around him.


	3. Running, A Talk

They looked over the partially damaged House of Commons and let the military secure the city proper. Nico was breathing heavily as Will tended to his wound and wove healing spells and slowly the pain ebbed away. Annabeth was not far talking with Jason and Percy as they both kept their weapons drawn.

“Well, that was certainly exciting.” Jason said walking over.

“It wasn’t all that surprising. The first meeting of the restored British government, with foreign dignitaries in attendance it was a rather tempting target.” Annabeth said.

“No one blames you for not seeing it coming.” Percy consoled.

She leaned into him and Percy wrapped her up and Nico felt a stab of jealously at the sight, something he thought he had long since buried. Will caught his look and gave him something Nico wasn’t sure he understood, but he turned his focus back to the matter at hand.

“This won’t be the only one.” Nico said.

“What makes you say that?” Jason asked.

“This is just the first time that the new governments have been attacked. The others have far less people and are far less protected. Were thousands of miles from America and its real reach of power.   
What I think we need to do is head back across the ocean.” Nico said.

“And do what?” Percy asked.

“Get the government to respond at the best or at the very least get the other half-bloods ready.” Annabeth supplied.

They all stayed silent taking in what that meant. They had already fought one war and had lost a great deal and the number of half-bloods was small and wouldn’t be able to take on armies of monsters again. That is just the Greek ones, the last war the Romans had attacked the base of power while the Greeks defended from the onslaught.

“Who do you think could be leading them?” Will asked.

“One of the Titans that escaped would be the most obvious. However, I doubt that’s the case given the scale of their defeat. My guess would be their mother.” Annabeth said.

“Gaia?” Jason asked.

“It makes sense. The Titans don’t have a power base anymore and there isn’t any other being strong enough to lead them and be here in the material realm.” Annabeth said.

“Well, need to gather more evidence. There are few others I could think that are behind this, but since the only survivor wouldn’t really let us take him for questions. For now, we gather what we can. I think we should make for New York first before trying to get into the mess that D.C. is.” Nico said.

“I think that is best. I know that if we get all the half-bloods behind us and mobilizing it might make our argument more valid. At the very least it’ll give these places better protection.” Annabeth said.

They stayed for the next few days, seeing if the monsters would try something again, but thankfully word got back to America quickly and a carrier group rolled into the channel. Tanks and an entire company of marines made landfall in Britain and the group of them took one of the destroyers home. They had a small celebration of Percy’s twenty fifth birthday while in the Atlantic and it felt as if they were years younger, before any of the war had happened. Nico could remember meeting Percy when he was ten and moving to Camp Half-Blood and how much his life changed in that year. It seemed like a lifetime ago that all of those things happened, and Nico had gone to great lengths to forget about as much as he could. It was after the blue cake did Percy catch Nico’s eye and nodded for him to go above deck.

When Nico reached the deck, he had to shield his eyes from the afternoon sun and turned to find Percy standing there with his sword drawn and a smirk on his face. Nico got the message and drew his own sword and leveled it at Percy daring him to make a move. Nico knew that Percy was a better swordsman, but he always had forced him to fight him on occasion just for the fun of it. This was the first time that Nico seriously wondered if he could actually beat Percy. It was quickly dashed when Percy charged and threw out a flurry of slashes that Nico either barely dodged or had to parry leaving him on the defensive. 

Nico finally managed to turn to the attack when he threw Percy off balance, though his attack was small, and Percy quickly turned the tide back in his favor. Nico was starting to get tired and decided to   
try and recover with a sword lock. He drew Percy in and kept him there and soon their blades held, and it became a test of strength.

“You’ve gotten better.” Percy said smirking.

“And you haven’t lost a step.” Nico shot back.

“I wouldn’t say that. I may be using the fact that were on a boat to my advantage.” Percy said.

“You always were a dirty cheat.”

Percy laughed but then got a serious look on his face, “Why did you leave?”

Nico was shocked into silence and then felt a burning anger come from deep inside and he started to lose his control. His swings came with more force and he could feel the shadows start to leech towards him. Percy put up a good fight, and managed on occasion to turn the tide, but Nico’s anger proved too much. He managed to cut Percy a few times and put him on the deck with Nico’s sword on his throat. Nico stood over him breathing deeply with rage barely being held back, and the shadows flickering around him. The others had stormed the deck and Annabeth was at Percy’s side looking at Nico with a great deal of fear. It was then that Nico realized what he had done and decided to do what he usually did.

“You can keep your money.” Nico said.

He reached out to the shadows and vanished into them and flung himself home. The journey was thousands of miles but for Nico it was only a few seconds and he found himself just outside the door of his small Maine cottage. He pushed himself inside, shut the door behind him and barely managed to make it to the couch before collapsing. He wasn’t sure how long he was asleep but when he awoke the sun was just beginning to rise and blinded him through the open window that he had. He dragged himself off the couch and shut the window before bringing the house to life. He turned on the heat, given that it was late September and Maine was not very warm. He turned on lights and began to set his stuff aside and generally try and settle back into his home. It had been a few months since he had last been here and it showed given the lack of food in the kitchen.

He changed his clothes and threw a much more casual pair of sweats and went about looking around his house. The library was in order and placed his new necromancy spell book amongst the collection as well as his personal notebook. His sword was hung by the front door and he decided to make the small trip to the local grocery to buy up on food so he wouldn’t have to leave. He had a small car that he rarely used but given that the nearest grocer was nearly twenty miles away he needed it. The drive was short, and he saw a few people out and about once he got into the town proper. He spent far too much money on food and got a few looks from the cashier, but he ignored them and drove right on home and put it all away. He took his new spell book and sat on the couch reading and lit the stone fireplace in front of him. He read until he got hungry ad made himself a simple meal of a sandwich and turned on the T.V., not wanting to read anymore of the book for now.

The news was relatively mundane, and he supposed that Percy and all of them would still be in the middle of the ocean. News of the attack on London was nearly constant and eventually Nico had to turn the television off to keep the memories from assaulting him. It was then he heard a roll of thunder and then a knock on his door. When he answered he wasn’t surprised to find Jason on the other side, given he was the only one who knew where the house was.

“At least you knocked.” Nico said.

He turned and walked back to the couch and Jason followed him inside and shut the door.

“You know they are all quite worried about you.” Jason said.

Nico snorted, “I highly doubt that. I nearly killed Percy, why would they be concerned about me?”

“One, Percy may have let the fight go too far, but you were not going to kill him. Percy is much better then to let that happen. Two, you just ran off after that and they have none the wiser as to where you went. Last time you vanished like that you feel off the radar for six years.” Jason explained.

“Whatever, don’t ask me to go back.” Nico said.

“I would like to think you know me better than that. Also there really isn’t anything to go back to at the moment. All we have is half baked theories and a few paranoid delusions. You know how far that would get us.”

“Fair point. How was Will?” Nico asked.

Jason was silent with narrowed eyes until something crossed on his face, “He’s fine, a little upset that you ran off. Though if you want, I can always let him know you’re here.”

Nico looked down fearing what Jason might be insinuating.

“No, you don’t have to do that. I don’t want him to come all the way out here for just me.”

Nico didn’t see the smirk that Jason had on his face that he dropped as soon as Nico looked up.

“How did you get here so quickly?” Nico asked.

Jason looked confused, “It has been about three days since you left. I couldn’t fly over half the ocean without dropping out of the air. I had to wait until we were a hundred miles from the shore and took off from there. If I could guess I bet the others are coming into port in New York right now.”

Nico was surprised that he had been unconscious for two whole days and had to remember that when he pushed himself this hard, crashing at the end was a consequence. His magic was dormant at the moment, and most likely trying to recover from the huge expense that he had made. He shelved the idea of trying necromancy for the next week until he was sure it wouldn’t kill him.

“I’m going to guess that you passed out as soon as you got back.” Jason said.

“You know the consequences of using so much power at once. I just hadn’t realized; it’s been years since I’ve had to exert myself like that.” Nico responded.

Jason snorted, “Of course you forgot. You’re chasing after low life criminals really doesn’t force you to try hard. But, if things continue the way they are, you may need to get used to using that much again.”

Nico knew that Jason was correct, but he wasn’t going to fall for something so obvious.

“I thought you were smarter than that Grace, I’m not going back.”

“Worth a shot. Just try and take care of yourself and if we do need you please at least think about coming back.” Jason said.

Nico waved him off and moved to sit in his small library and meditate to get some of his magic back. Jason sighed and left with a whirl and crack of thunder which shook Nico’s house. He rolled his shoulders and elegantly wrote the runes into the ground and then sat down and closed his eyes. He quickly found himself standing in a dark field filled with black grass and dead trees. There were thousands of souls wandering the field and Nico forced his way through them to the great palace that loomed in the distance. It had been quite some time since he had delved into the immaterial to speak with any of the gods and that is why he was so far from the palace. The great building was made of oily black stone and infused with gold and silver, giving off a rather intimidating feeling and just radiated power.

When he reached the palace, he spotted the first line of the mechanical warriors that his father had at his disposal but refused to say where they had come from. They didn’t look at him nor stand in his way and he supposed that was the best he could ask for. If his lessons in necromancy went well, he would be able to call on these soldiers whenever he wanted, and they would respond. He pushed past the main entrance and entered the throne room and there looming over it was his father sitting upon his throne of bone. He father had piercing black eyes, pale skin, and black hair that gave off a rather unsettling feeling. What completed the look were the elegant robes of black and red that contained souls of those he personally wanted to torment. Of all the gods that Nico had met, no one gave off the feeling of power quite like his father.

“Son, you have returned after such a long time.” His father boomed.

Nico stopped before the throne and knelt keeping his gaze down, “Father.”

“Rise, no need to debase yourself.”

Nico stood and met his father’s eyes, “What brings you to me?”

“Something I hope that I am wrong about.” Nico responded.

“I’ve heard rumblings of your battle in the material realm. Strange that the monsters choose now to strike.”

“How so, it seemed rather simple to me.” Nico said.

“They are small in number at this point. The power of Tartarus no longer helps them, and it has become much more difficult for them to reach the material plane. There is much disturbance in the world.” Hades explained.

“Then why attack us if their numbers are fading?”

“That is the question, one that I do not have the answer to. I know you believe it to Gaia, but the mother earth is currently occupied.” Hades said.

“Why?” Nico asked stupidly.

Hades gave him a withering stare, “I do not keep awareness of all the movements of the gods. She is one of the original and has great power, what she choses to use it on is beyond me.”

“Well, that doesn’t help. Just as we have a plan its all turned to ruins because some other god is behind it.” Nico said harshly.

“Do not always assume a god is behind everything. There are far more powerful forces in this universe than us gods, some I shudder to think have turned their gaze upon us.” Hades responded.

“What could challenge the gods?”

“It was before my time, but Gaia was alive to see it happen. After Chaos gave birth to the cosmos and the first gods, an enemy rose to challenge them. Gaia, Ouranos, Tartarus, and Nyx all united to defeat the foe though Chaos was lost. It was simply known as the Great Devourer.”

Nico wasn’t sure how to take the news. Something that could consume the gods, even the most ancient and powerful among them. He shivered at the thought, but as long as it kept Gaia’s gaze away, he was fine with it.

“I sense calm from you son. Most would fall to despair at the thought.” Hades said.

“All I care about is as long as this keeps her gaze away for the time being them that’s fine.” Nico responded.

“True as that may be. If the Great Devourer were to arrive here, you would beg for her to help. For now, return home and think on what is to happen next. I will try to keep eyes out for anything of note, we gods must not be caught unaware.”

Hades swept his hand and Nico was thrown from the realm and opened his eyes to see his library yet again. His talk with Hades was enlightening but also confusing. For the time being he would keep this to himself and wait to see who made the next move.


	4. A Visit in Downtime

Nico spent the week in isolation working his way through his new book and occasionally watching the news for anything interesting that was happening. The attacks in Europe seemed to have been isolated and everything quieted down after that and the news turned to much more trivial things. Nico himself could care less and outside of his reading he spent time meditating and flexing his magical might. The huge jump he had made had drained him far more than he was willing to admit and he needed to build his stores again. It was exhausting work and most of the time he could barely conjure a handful of fire in his hand without passing out and he supposed that he should see someone with medical experience. That led his mind to think of Will and he hated whenever his mind took him down that route. No matter how much Nico tried he couldn’t get those blue eyes out of his head. It was as if every time Nico would try something dangerous those eyes would look at him and judge him.  
It was irritating and he seemed to have become less reckless as a result and it was shocking to say the least. It was late on a Saturday when he decided to try and summon his first undead warrior. He drew the runes onto his arms and sat himself outside of his house and began to recite the words lowly and waited to see what would happen. When he finished the spell, he felt a tug in his gut and the ground cracked before him and slowly a metal body climbed its way out of the dirt to stand before him. Its eyes held the unearthly green glow and his metal skeleton body shined in the late day sun. He held a single spear that glowed with power and he remained motionless but at attention.

“I actually did it.” Nico whispered.

The soldier turned to look at him but made no other move to do anything and Nico supposed that it was waiting for orders.

“Do you know who I am?” Nico asked.

“You are The Ghost King, Nico di Angelo, son of my lord Hades.” The skeleton responded in a dead tone.

“Do you know why you are here?”

“I heard a call to arms, and I am bound to answer.”

Nico stopped trying to think of another question to ask as it had been years since the last time any of the Underworld soldiers had been called into the real world. The last time was the battle on New York and his father was leading them then and Nico was but a footnote in that fight.

“Could I call more of you here?” Nico asked.

“Given that the call was small no, but with great power and urgency the number of my brethren at your disposal is thousands.” The soldier replied.

“Good, your dismissed.” Nico said.

The soldier nodded and then melted back into the ground and Nico eyed the runes on his arms. Seeing that the spell only called one he would have to modify it somehow and that would take a great deal of work seeing as he didn’t want to end up killing himself in the process. He went back to reading in his warm house and sat before his black television with a steaming mug of coffee and looked through to see if there were other variations of the necromancy spell. Most of the book was useless background information about the dangers and pitfalls of using such a spell and Nico largely ignored them. The sun had finally set when Nico looked up again from his studies and looked around at the notes he had made. He had an idea of making the spell permanently at his disposal, but it would require a steady hand and some tattoo ink, neither of which he had. It was then that there was a knock at his door and Nico was surprised at the intrusion. He almost never had visitors, unless it was some official making the rounds to make sure he was still alive, or Jason come to bother him.

He moved to the door and kept an eye on his sword resting next to the doorframe. If this were someone hostile, he would remove them with extreme prejudice. However, when he opened the door, he was surprised to find Will Solace standing on the other side with somewhat pink cheeks. The air was cool in the autumn evening and Nico quickly moved to allow Will inside his little home.

“Thanks, I wasn’t sure I had the right place.” Will said upon entering.

Nico was silent and merely eyed him, wondering why he was here but more importantly how he found this place. Will sat down on the couch eyeing Nico’s notes and various scraps of rambling that he had written down.

“You’re probably wondering how it is that I found this place.” Will said.

“That would be a good start.” Nico said.

“Well, it wasn’t easy, and I had to bend a few rules to get the information, but it was worth it in the end. See we doctors have special privileges when it comes to the demigods in the military. Seeing as I’m one myself I can access any of their files I want, for really any reason. However, you are not properly in the military, or at least you aren’t anymore. I found an old file of yours from nearly seven years ago after the attack from the Labyrinth. With that as my basis I went asking around for more knowledge and found a rather amenable captain with the locations of retired demigods.” Will started.

“Get to the point, so fare none of that should have given you this place.” Nico interjected.

“True, but when I gave him your file, he gave me the location of Maine which you already told me, but I had to be sure was right. From there I spent hours wearing Jason down until he told me. Though he did warn me you may skin me alive for pulling that from him.” Will finished.

“I’m not going to skin you; I’m just going to skin him. Though you probably should just have asked Jason first to save you the trouble.” Nico said.

Will laughed, “I guess now that you say it, that would’ve been the easiest thing to do.”

“Now, why are you here?” Nico asked.

“Well, you kind of ran off rather quickly and the others seemed worried about you trying to jump so far.” Will explained.

“They shouldn’t worry, I was only asleep for about two days. It wasn’t anything I hadn’t experienced before.” Nico said.

Will had several emotions pass over his face before settling on worry and that was perhaps the worst face that Nico could face. He could handle anger or disgust, but genuine worry was not something he had experienced in the past.

“That is not healthy. I imagine you’ve spent the week trying to build you magic up.” Will said.

“Among other things, yes.”

Will sighed, “Have you been eating and sleeping?”

“Some.” Was all Nico supplied.

Will looked down and Nico could see some of the anger grace his features and Nico braced for the worst.

“Alright, well I’m going to force you to eat and sleep properly starting now. Don’t fight me on this, others have tried and haven’t ever won.”

“Do you plan on staying here?” Nico asked.

“If that’s what is needed then yes. Now, what were you doing before I got here?”

“Reading as you can see, as well as a little spell work.”

“That’s fine, you doing your research is probably the best thing you can do at the moment.”

Nico was unsure of how to respond and merely grabbed his books and sat in the chair next to the couch and at least tried to look busy. It was difficult to maintain as Will had taken it upon himself to look   
through Nico’s house for some unknown reason. It was when Will was in the kitchen did, he hear him gasp and Nico was on his feet in a second, storming into the kitchen.

“What’s wrong?” Nico asked looking for threats.

“You barely have any food here.” Will said.

“I went to the grocery last week and bought enough for a month, what’s the issue?” Nico said.

“Nico, this is barely enough to keep you alive for a month. If your going to be messing with magic you need a proper diet.”

“I’ve always eaten this way and can still use magic.” Nico shot at him.

“And yet you passed out after exerting yourself.” Will admonished.

Nico knew that Will had him there. Normally Nico never used a great deal of magic in his fights, but the more he used the quick the darkness of unconsciousness came creeping in.

“Fine, what are you going to do?”

“Well, I’m going to the store first thing in the morning. I brought my car so don’t worry about coming with me, I know you’ll only fight me the whole time.” Will said.

“Whatever, where do you plan on sleeping?” Nico asked.

“Well, I assumed the couch would work considering you have the only bedroom and bed.”

“Sure, just don’t complain about not sleeping or a poor back.”

“Don’t worry I won’t. I don’t really have problems sleeping.” Will said smirking.

Nico’s face heated up at that for some reason and he looked away and stalked back to the living room and shut all the books. Night was rapidly approaching, and Nico was feeling actually hungry enough to eat a dinner, though he wondered what Will would think of it. For someone Nico tried to ignore, he seemed to care what his opinion of him was.

“What do you feel like eating for dinner?” Nico asked aloud.

“I can make some soup for tonight, won’t take more than twenty minutes.” Will offered.

“Sure, do whatever, just don’t make a mess of my kitchen.”

“Don’t you worry.” Will all but sang.

Nico grumbled and turned to the spell work and he had to wonder if Will could provide the permanent runes for the necromancy spell. Healing magic could do something like that if the caster so wished, but he would have to wait to ask once he had a working spell. He had the basics written out on various papers, but he could not figure out how to combine them all into one spell. He took the summoning portion as well as the control portion from the original and was looking at a duplication rune that might work but he was dubious about it. He also thought an evermore charm might work but he worried he wouldn’t be able to send them back without blacking out from the exertion. Every route he took he was met by another wall and couldn’t see a way around this. If he asked Annabeth, he was sure she could find a workaround in less than ten minutes, but Nico was not blessed with her intelligence.

He was pulled from his thoughts by a steaming bowl being held in front of him and he looked up to see Will smiling down at him. He set his notes aside and took the bowl and ate slowly, not wanting to reveal just how good the food was.

“What were you looking at?” Will asked.

“Trying to modify the necromancy spell.” Nico replied.

“Can you even do that?”

“I’m not sure, the book doesn’t give me a spell for multiple summons. Most of it is conditions of a summons and the various versions you can use. I’ve stripped the basics down and seeing if I can’t work another spell into it without consequences.” Nico explained.

“Consequences?”

“Yeah, summoning the dead isn’t natural. They don’t belong in this world and therefore conditions need to be met to summon them. But to have more than one causes the real world to react and fight back. The trick is trying to say nothing is wrong.”

“Sounds complicated.” Will said.

“Only if you aren’t familiar with the spell work. I’m sure if you explained your healing spells I would be just as confused.”

“I don’t think so. Most of the healing spells I had to come up with. Of all my siblings no one is as gifted in healing as I am, so there isn’t a whole lot of background written down.” Will said.

“Wow, I had no idea. I just know Apollo has a lot of kids, so I just assumed.” Nico said apologetically.

“Its fine, most of my siblings are good at archery or music or prophecy, I’m the only one who is strong with healing. That shot I made in London was honestly the best I’ve ever had. I’m pretty average for an archer.”

“Better than me.” Nico added.

“True, but you are leaps and bounds better than me with a sword.” Will retorted.

“Jason and Percy were always better with swords. Piper and Annabeth are downright scary with knives,” Nico swallowed a lump in his throat, “and my sister Hazel is great with a lance.”

“You have a sister?” Will asked.

“I used to have two, Hazel’s all I got now. She’s the only one who I actually try to keep in touch with. Jason can just fly up here and bother me whenever he feels like it and all the others don’t know where   
I live.” Nico explained.

“Oh, didn’t realize you know all the famous people.” Will joked.

Nico smirked, “Yeah, though I’m the one in the shadows and I really don’t like the media so I’m fine with no one knowing who I am.”

“I can understand that.”

Nico set his now empty bowl of soup down and stretched, feeling unusually tired. He hadn’t had that filling of a meal in a long time and usually it made him sluggish. He eyed the clock and saw that it was barely past seven and tried to shake the tiredness from him.

“You look tired.” Will commented.

“I don’t usually eat this much at once. It makes me tired and I have work to do.” Nico replied.

“What kind of work would be worth losing sleep over?” Will asked.

“This necromancy works. I need to be ready for whenever the next fight is, and if my father’s words are anything to go by, its soon.”

“You spoke to your father? What did he say?” Will asked, shocked.

“I asked him about Gaia. He isn’t sure what she’s up since he doesn’t follow her movements, but he’ll keep an eye out. What scares me is the threat he said lays beyond.” Nico said.

“What lays beyond?”

“All I know is it killed Chaos and didn’t die in the process. Hades called it the Great Devourer and the gods were the only thing keeping our system hidden from its gaze.”

Will was silent and looked down, seemingly shaken by the news. There wasn’t much that scared Nico, but he knew what it meant that Chaos couldn’t stop it. Chaos was the originator of the gods and helped create the universe they lived in. If a being as powerful as that couldn’t stop it, there was little else that could.

“I’ll make a call tomorrow and let the others know. Just try and forget about it for now. No need in worrying about something that doesn’t even know we exist.” Nico said.

Will merely nodded and collected Nico’s bowl and took them to the kitchen. Nico watched him go and felt another strong pull of sleep and couldn’t really fight it off anymore. He shut his eyes and only barely opened them again when he heard laughing and felt something pick him up. He saw blue eyes crinkle in amusement and then felt himself being placed in something soft and merely shifting into it and giving into the pull of sleep.


End file.
